Page 15 of An Heir For Her Enemy

They descended a small set of stairs on wheels onto the tarmac and Logan led the way to a waiting car and driver. He opened one door and held out an arm as though intending to help Delaney in. With a look, she circled the car and got in from the other side.

As they drove out of the private airport, Delaney looked around at the billboards and shops. The landscape looked disappointingly familiar. Yet as they approached the city, she saw old buildings and a few statues that made her heart race.

“Our appraisal meeting is set for eleven a.m. tomorrow at the home of Marco Vassallo, who currently owns the painting,”Logan explained. “We’ll drive over together. After that, we’ll head back to New York.”

“Right.” Delaney wished she had a little more time to see Rome, but it wouldn’t be worth it if she had to be here with Logan. She’d have to come back someday, when she had more money and time. Maybe Cora would come with her.

“Until then, we have a free evening. I’d like to buy you dinner.”

Delaney was surprised, but she knew immediately what she wanted to say. “No, thank you. I’d like to enjoy my one evening in Rome on my own.”

“Are you sure? I have a reservation at a restaurant overlooking the Colosseum. It’s supposed to have the best food in the city, as well as one of the best views. I’d like to be on good terms with you. I know we left things on a bad note, but that wasn’t my intention.”

Delaney was briefly tempted. The best food in the city and a view of the Colosseum sounded amazing, and she wouldn’t be able to afford either on her own. But if she went along with Logan’s offer, it would mean that she’d forgiven him for how he’d treated her, and she couldn’t do that. He needed to know that it wasn’t okay to treat women the way he had. He also needed to know that he couldn’t just buy forgiveness with a nice restaurant. Delaney would rather have a quiet and inexpensive evening to herself than something flashy with Logan.

“I’ll stick to my own plans, thanks.” Her tone was curt, but she kept her words polite. A flicker of what might have been disappointment crossed Logan’s handsome features, but he snapped back to his usually confident self in an instant.

“Your loss. We’ll meet tomorrow at the hotel buffet for a meeting over breakfast, though.”

“Yes.”

They rode the rest of the way to the hotel in silence. Delaney was annoyed, but more than anything she was distracted by the city outside. Their hotel was in an older part of town, where the roads were paved in cobblestones and every corner seemed to offer a gorgeous historical church, a majestic water fountain, or a small restaurant with tables on the sidewalk.

They pulled up in front of an elegant hotel a few minutes later. Logan and Delaney got out at the same time and she went around the back to get her suitcase, only to have a porter take it from her with a smile.

“Two rooms; the name is Banks,” Logan said when they reached the check-in counter. After checking their passports, the hostess slid two key cards across the counter and wished them a pleasant stay.

“Which floor are you on?” Logan asked.

“It looks like the fifth floor. Room five-one-two.”

“Room five-one-one. It looks like we’ll be neighbors.”

“Wonderful.” Delaney’s tone had slipped from curt into sarcastic. They rode the elevator to their floor in silence. Logan nodded to Delaney before opening the door to his room.

“I’ll see you tomorrow for breakfast. Nine o’clock sharp.”

Delaney just nodded. She didn’t know why it was important that they meet for breakfast. Hopefully Logan wanted to talkstrategy, not make any more empty offers of dinner and good terms.

Delaney stepped into her hotel room and her jaw dropped. She’d expected a small, professional room like she’d had in hotels previously, but this blew all other rooms out of the water. The bed was a huge four-poster with curtains, the kind Delaney had seen in princess movies as a child. There was a makeup table with a large, round mirror, and a sofa topped with fluffy pillows. On the other side of the room, a window looked out over the bustling street below. Delaney spotted a writing desk with ornate carved legs and a matching chair. There was also a bathroom with an enormous clawfoot tub and more complimentary beauty products than a cosmetics convention.

“Wow,” she whispered under her breath. Logan might be just like all the other rich jerks she knew, but he certainly wasn’t stingy.

Delaney took a quick shower to wash off the long flight, dressed in a pair of slacks and a creamy sweater against the cold, and took one last look around the room before heading out. Part of her wanted to do nothing more than soak in the tub and see if the bed was really as fluffy as it looked, but she had only one night in Rome, and she would enjoy it.

The street outside was filled with people who seemed to be on their way home from work. A glance at her phone showed that it was just after six in the evening. She had a few hours to explore before she’d need to get to bed — she needed to fight off the jet lag.

After a quick orienting glance, Delaney fell into the flow of foot traffic. Knowing that it would be impossible to see all of Rome’s landmarks in an evening, she decided to just wander the citytonight. After a few blocks, she turned into a cobbled alleyway lined with shops and spent longer than she should have looking at gorgeous dresses, gleaming jewelry, and elegant pastries in the shop windows.

The alley led her to a square with a fountain in the center. Tourists were taking pictures in front of an old church on the far side, and groups sat in sidewalk cafés, sipping coffees and chatting. Delaney crossed the square, passed a flock of pigeons that took flight with annoyed squawks, and stopped to buy a pistachio gelato from a street vendor. It was a little chilly for ice cream, but she couldn’t resist.

As she strolled and enjoyed her gelato, she wondered what Logan was doing at this exact moment. Probably seducing an Italian beauty, she thought darkly. After all, he was in the city for one night. It was perfect. There would be no time for awkward conversation in the morning. Delaney glared at her gelato, then forced herself to take a calming breath. There was no point in being angry, not when she was in the country she’d always dreamed of visiting.

She climbed a flight of steep stairs set into another alley, which led her to a small leafy park overlooking the city. Autumn was in full swing here, the trees bursting with reds, yellows, and oranges, and below Delaney could see the winding network of neighborhoods that made up Rome.

She explored until darkness fell and her feet ached. Just as she was starting to get hungry, she spotted a hole-in-the-wall pizzeria and went in. There, at a small table covered with a red-and-white-checked plastic tablecloth, she ate a Margherita pizza with fresh tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil, along with a bubbly Italian soda that tasted like lemons. It was one of the best dinners of her life.

After eating, Delaney was so tired she could barely move. She paid, then got out her phone for directions back to the hotel. Luckily, she was close. She walked slowly, admiring the ornate streetlights and the chatter of passersby, until she came to her hotel. To her surprise, Logan was also returning.

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